Headlight



Patented Nov, 1,5, 1927i "UNI-TED 's .T.fijfl-u:sl PATENT ortica.

WALTER. DA'nc RYAN, J orfsoHnNncraDYQ-NEW Yonx.-

f nnAnLIGHrQ.

v appimauon eigenaren 12,1926. serial 1ra-94,191. 3 A

My invention relates to im rovementsfin" headlights and yis particular y concerned,- though not necessarily limited, to lmplrvee' ments in headlights for automotive ve icles.

described, comprisingmeans for effectively illuminating both sides of the road immediatelyadjacent the vehicle so as to enable the driver easily to perceive the'.curbs,ditches,

road signs` etc.; L e

Third, to provide a headlightof the char-.l acter described, embodying means for illuminating crossroads in advance of the vehicle i a headlight as it'tur-ns into such crossroads;

Fourth, to provide a headlight, such as described, comprising meansor producing an especially great intensity f illumination on' the right side of the road so as to enable the 'l driver more easilyto perceive the curb and vother similar obstacles even 1n misty ori foggy weather; and

' Finally to provide a headlight, such as described, that is simple in construction and economical to manufacture.

Other objects of my invention will appear` as this description progresses, ,reference be# ing had to the accompanying drawings, in which e y ,4

Figurel is a vertical cross section through embodying one lformoi my invention;

Fi re 2 is a. transverse sectionalifdetail o'n an 1plir-ged scale;

igure 3v is a front view of the .reflector v forming a partof the headlight; and

. erencecharacters are used for referringtoV the same parts.

herein comprises a rsuitable housing com-..

. Figure 4 is a vertical section through'the Throughout the several views similar' ref- The embodiment of'my inventiondisclosed pnsmg the back 5 andtherather narrow side flange 6, both of which are vintegrally formed. A hollow stem 7, securedto the lower port-ion of the back,vprovides means .for introducing an' electric cable, or cables,

prevents rotation of the `nut 20.`

l, socket 22 for receivin not shown, for supplying current to the sources of light- Adoor ring Sfis pvotally mounted upon the flange 6 ofthe housing, by means of a suitable hinge 9, and is heldin closedvposition by means of a latch 10 that may be of any desired construction.

The reliiector 11 may beof any suitable contour, paraboloidal, hyperboloidal, orit may have characteristics similar -to there- `liector described and claimed in my co-pending applicatiomSerial No. 88,911, filed February 17, 1926q but in any event, the focal point, or focal region, of the reflector shouldfl `11e well inside ofthe plane of the ed e of the reflector. The reiector is pre'fera lly provided with airintegral, backwardly extending flange 12. -A pivot head 14,issecured to the ange on each side of [the reiector` land is pivotally mounted uponla bracket 15 carried` by the housing. lOne of these vpivotal suspensions is shown 1n vdetail in Figurer2. A

For adjusting the reiector about the axis `ofthe two pivot pins 13 I provide an adjusting screwV 16 that extends through a suitable fpin 18, having av opening inthe housing and is provided at its outer end with a suitable knob .17. This screw extends loosely through an opening in the downturned portion 18 of the bracket 19, that is soldered, lor otherwise secured,.,to

the flange 12, and engages a screwthreaded nut 20. A compression spring'21 is confined i between the back .A o the housing and the downturned portion 18 of the bracket 19 and tends to keep this'. portion of the bracket 19 in contact with the nut 20, whatever the 0- sition of the latter upon the screw may lie.

The nut 20 has a notch cut-in its upper edge for receiving thev bracket 19 and t elatter From the above 4description it will be seen that the reflector 11 can be tilted to any nut 20' on the screw 16by mere y rotating the knob 17 in one direction or another.

The reector 11 is provided with a lamp the base of a suitable lamp 23, having the lament 24 thatserves as the mainsource of light. This socket is referably located anap reciable distance Eelowthe axis 25 of the re ector, as shown in Figures 3 Aand 4. y

The reliec'tor is provided with a second socket 2 6, located close .to the edge of the reflector, or receiving a .second lamp 27 having the filament-28 that forms a second,

lposition corresponding to-the osition of the I or auxiliary, source of light. The center of this socket is preferably located about ten degrees above a horizontal plane passing through the axis of the reflector, as shown in Figure 3,*but this angle may be departed- -diately 1n front of the car where it will be useful in illuminating the curbs, side ditches,

crossroads, etc. However, a very consider` able portion of the direct light from the auxiliary source will vbe thrown toward the opposite side of the road, so as to be availa e for reading road signs and useful in illuminatin the front portion and fenders of an approac ing car.

To insure a suilicient quantity of light for these purposes thefilament 28 of the auxiliary Source of light should be placed out beyond the plane of the edge of the reflector, as is shown in Fi e 1.

While any suitable ens can be used as a part of my improved headlight, I prefer to make use of the bowl-shaped lens 29, .shown in Figure 1, having the outwardly convexed central portion 30 and the marginal flange 31 that extends substantiallyparallel with the axis of the reflector and which referably embodies a. slight prism having e ability to direct light somewhat to the rear of the headlight. It will be noted that the lamp 27 extends into .the lens and is enclosed on some of its sides by the marginal lian e 31 of the lens. This permits the direct lig t from'the auxiliary source easily to pass through the lens in a lateral direction.

By placing the two sources of light as shown in Figure 1, that is, one well inside of the plane of the edge of the reflector and oneoutside of this plane, I make it possible to use consderably'more than half of the light emitted from the main source in producing the main beam of light used for illuminatin .the roadway and objectsfarY in advanoe o the vehicle, and to use considerably more than half of the light emitted from the l auxilia source in illuminating the sides of the roa and that portion of the road immediately in advance of the vehicle by means of the direct light from the auxiliary source.

The main source of light should, of course, be placed adjacent the focal point, or focal region, of the reflector, but I prefer to lo cate it somewhat below the focal point becausein 'this manner the up er portion of the beam is directeddownwar y toward the axis of the vreflector so as to prevent light rays of undue intensity interferingwith the vision an an approaching driver. This effect can be, and is preferably, increased by tilting the to of the, reflector forwardly and downwar ly, as is indicated in dotted outline in Figure 1.

ItV will, ofcourse, be understood that the wiring and switching arrangements for the two sources of light may be such that either may be operated separately, or both of them can be operated at the same time. APreferably, the auxiliary source of light will have a candle power somewhat less than that of the main source of light.

While I have described the details of construction of the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be clearly understood that my invention is not limited to these details but is capable of other vadaptations and modifications within the' scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

'A headlight for illuminatin the sides of the roadway and projecting a eam of li ht longitudinally thereof, comprising a re ec' tor-having a focal point lying well within the plane of the edge thereof, a main source of light adjacent said focal point, an auxiliary Source of light'supported by said reflector adjacent the side edge and close to the axial horizontal plane thereof, and a lens for said reflector having a marginal cylindrical flange extendin thereabout, said auxiliary source of li ht gbeing positioned outside of the plane o the edge of the rey ilector whereby light from said auxiliary source may pass through said cylindrical flange illuminating the sides of the road.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribey my name, this 1st day of March, 1926.

WALTER DARCY RYAN. 

